For example, the bureau has examination authority, lenders are expected to upkeep comprehensive compliance management systems, and the CFPB publicly publishes a database of consumer complaints and notifies the financial institutions responsible.

Cordray himself has been in the crosshairs of some Republicans, and earlier this month Trump reportedly asked a group of lawmakers and financial services interest groups what to do about him, but apparently expressed the view that ousting him would make him a "martyr".

Although there has been speculation that he has plans to run for Ohio Governor, Cordray has made no mention of his future plans.

"Together, we have made a real and lasting difference that has improved people's lives", Mr. Cordray said of the CFPB in his email. And I trust that new leadership will see that value also and work to preserve it - perhaps in different ways than before, but desiring, as I have done, to serve in ways that benefit and strengthen our economy and our country.

Cordray's term as director was set to expire next year. Republicans on the hill have always been calling for President Trump to fire Cordray and hire someone less antagonistic to the finance industry, yet Trump balked, apparently concerned that firing Cordray would turn him into some kind of martyr for the left. "The resignation of the Bureau's director is an excellent opportunity to enact desperately needed reforms", House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling said. Cordray appealed to Trump directly not to sign the legislation, but was rebuffed. He reiterated the work the CFPB has done so far to recover $12 billion in relief for almost 30 million consumers - including fines to auto lenders.

When Trump was elected, Cordray became one of the highest political appointees to be left over from the previous administration.

The squabbling isn't new.

The bureau, known as the CFPB, was one of the central achievements of the Obama administration following the 2008 financial crisis.

Obama nominated Cordray in July 2011 after the Democratic-led Senate approved the agency's creation through the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act.

"This is no place for another Trump-appointed industry hack", she said in a statement. He held big banks accountable.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the Democrat who is credited with conceiving and setting up the CFPB, has said its actions were necessary to protect ordinary Americans in the wake of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Before he was appointed to lead by the CFPB by President Obama in 2012, he served as Ohio's attorney general and treasurer.

Incumbent Gov. John Kasich (R.) is term-limited and can not seek reelection when his second term ends in January 2019. He could not simultaneously hold his position as director of the CFPB and announce his candidacy before the February 2018 deadline.

Republicans had urged Trump to try to remove Cordray because he had too much regulatory power.